


Missing Scene 3: Don't Mess with Dragons

by Casyn



Series: Saving Hogwarts [4]
Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Alternate Universe - Hogwarts, Orginal Characters, Saving Hogwarts Universe, Vignette
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-04-20
Updated: 2016-04-20
Packaged: 2018-06-03 09:09:12
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,419
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6605050
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Casyn/pseuds/Casyn
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>This is a missing scene from Saving Hogwarts, chapter 35 and 36 (which isn't finished yet) . Alexis mentions at the end of Chapter 35 that she worked on a dragon reserve. This is that story. It does contain mention of adult discipline, but like most of my stories, nothing on scene.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Missing Scene 3: Don't Mess with Dragons

**Author's Note:**

> Part of this scene will be in Chapter 36, the part with Jake. I did not, however, want to cut all of that out of this scene, as I think it fits well.

“Alright Alexis, spill.”   
  
She snorted, relaxing back against her armchair, sipping on her tea. Jake was sprawled out on the armchair across from her with Mary relaxing in a chair she had transfigured to recline. The three of them had been trying to wind down and relax, something they didn't get to do often with a camp full of hurting children and younger counselors who needed guidance. She definitely didn't get to relax, with all the work she had to do, so Mary had the idea of the three of them just trying to take an hour every now and then to relax. That's how they had gotten comfortable enough with each other for them to tell stories like they were, of their apprenticeships, even of their childhoods. Since Mary had shared a time when her master corrected her and Jake had shared a time when he had got called in front of the senior healer, she knew she had to pick one. And she had the perfect story. “Jake, you remember what we talked about last night? About how I worked on a dragon reserve? Well, one day...”   
  
-

It retrospective, this had probably been a stupid, _stupid_ idea. She dropped over the side of the fence, flinching at the impact of her feet hitting the ground. The drop was a bit further than she had expected and she knew she had to stay silent. She forced down the flash of pain, glancing around the enclosure before starting north. Hopefully he was in that direction. She needed to get both of them out of this alive and then she'd kill him. If anyone found out, they would both be in serious trouble and she wasn't losing her license over this. Alexis moved as quietly as possible, grimacing when she step on a twig. The loud snap of it made her freeze but when nothing moved, she keep moving forward. She didn't dare cast her magic out to find him, not while inside a dragon's pen. Dragons were sensitive to magic, her type of magic could irritate it into attacking. Hopefully the dragon was asleep and she could grab him and get out of here before it woke. Stupid, idiot man. If he had been suicidal, it would have been different. She would have alerted his master and the head of the reserve immediately, so that they could help her locate him. But no, he had been dared to do this, to prove his worth and he was so damn stubborn, he couldn't see the danger in it. It was his master's dragon that he was sneaking around though, so that gave her the tiniest bit of hope that the dragon would not kill them both. She froze at the sound of a roar, before moving quickly toward it. She stumbled passed a group of trees, catching her balance and moving back at the sight of the dragon and the young man who was extremely close to it. Way too close for comfort. “Christopher! Don't be stupid!” She hissed, moving very slowly toward the man.   
  
“Alexis? It isn't safe! Are you crazy?” He hissed back, not taking his eyes off his master's dragon. He was learning to communicate with dragons right now, so that one day he would be a dragon rider in his own right. Because he did have a connection with them, his magic was such that he could bond with a dragon. But he wasn't stupid enough to believe that waking a sleeping dragon, even one that knew him, was safe. He knew it was dangerous but he had it under control. 

Alexis frowned, her eyes moving away from the dragon and to the movement she could see in the sky.  _Shit_ . “ It's a Wyvern, Chris!” The creatures were cousins of dragons but they were not trainable; they had little tolerance for other wyverns, much less humans. She had saw the memo that they had been spotted in the area but she had ignored it. Wyverns only hunted at night and she hadn't planned to be out at night. 

He tore his eyes away from Ayia, his master's dragon, to stare at the Wyvern. If he was correct, it was flying right toward him. Ayia roared again and he moved without thinking, shuffling toward the dragon. Wyverns weren't stupid enough to mess with dragons but they had no problems eating humans. “Alexis, this way!” He called out, motioning for her to come toward him, even if he knew how against instinct it was to move toward a dragon.   
  
She hesitated but the wyvern was getting closer and if they were near each other, she could put up a shield, even if it might aggravate the dragon. She moved quickly, stumbling over to him. She turned to face the wyvern, her back to the dragon. “We are so screwed.”She muttered, taking a step back. She hadn't realized that the dragon had moved forward so that it was right behind the two of them, so she stepped back into the dragon, her back pressing against it's chest. She froze, holding perfectly still in case the dragon saw her as a threat.   
  
_Ayia gave a soft huff, eyeing the two kits pressing against her front. She moved her forepaws, placing one of either side of the young human kits, so that they could back safely up against her and the wyvern would have to go through her to get to them. She knew her human rider would be here soon, as she had called him when the kits entered her pasture. Ayia lifted her head high, tilting it back and letting out a roar at the wyvern._  
  
Chris frowned, resting back against Ayia as he watched the wyvern fly away. Now they just had to figure out how to get back to their quarters without attracting the attention of a wyvern again.   
  
She flinched when the dragon nuzzled her, forcing herself to stay still. It didn't seem to faze Chris any that the dragon was rubbing her stout against them but then she was not a dragon rider. She did not get up close and personal with any of the dragons, which she preferred. She had a healthy amount of fear of the dragons, or what they were capable of anyway. She wanted to keep it that way.  
  
“Thank you, Ayia, for protecting these two idiots.” The older man gruffed, walking steadily toward his apprentice and the young healer. When the ward around Ayia's pasture had warned him of intruders and then his dragon had sent a warning herself, he knew he would find his troublesome apprentice in the middle of it. That boy was destined to turn him grey. He turned his eyes to the young healer and forced back a sigh. While he knew exactly how he was going to handle his apprentice, the healer's situation was a bit trickier. She was the one of the few healers on the reserve at the moment, as half of the staff had quit and the head healer was on leave. He would be back in a month, along with the healers he was hiring, but that didn't help him now. Nor would it do her any good. So he had very few options that didn't include the director. The girl was a good healer and a very understanding mind-healer, he didn't want her to get into official trouble for this. That's why he had sent Christopher to her to begin with, because he knew she could help, and she was helping Christopher, he could see it in the slight changes of the younger man. But he couldn't let her go without any consequences. He could take her back to his quarters and call her cosigner, or one of them anyway. Those two men took responsibility for her and would know how to handle her. The older man was a senior healer and he knew the girl respected him, that would allow him to keep in unofficial at least. “Come.” He ordered beckoning at the two and wrapping his shield around both of them. It would hide their sight and smell from the passing wyverns.   
  
“We are dead. So dead.” Chris muttered, following his master without hesitation.   
  
“And whose fault is that?” She snapped softly, trying to keep up with their fast pace while hobbling. It seemed that the drop over the fence, which had briefly hurt, had actually sprained her ankle. The adrenaline of finding the idiot had kept the pain away. But now that the fear was subsiding, the pain was there.   
  
He glanced back at her before frowning. She was limping. “Master Luka, Alexis is injured.” Chris called, moving to sling one of her arms of his shoulder. He ignored her flinch, shifting part of her weight onto him.   
  
Luka turned, eyeing the girl for a moment. From the way she was limping, it looked like she had twisted or sprained her ankle, he wasn't sure which. While he knew basic first aid, he was no healer. He would check her ankle as soon as they were in his quarters, before he flooed her guardians. He moved to her other side, moving her arm around his shoulder and taking the rest of her weigh. He ignored her grumbles, guiding the two miscreants toward the rider barracks. As Head Dragon Rider, he had his own quarters in the barracks and his apprentice had a room there, instead of on the main floor. Which would give them a bit more privacy.   
-x-  
  
Eric forced back a sigh, eyes focused on the gray-eyed young woman. She was barely nineteen and yet she had so quickly risen in the ranks of healers that she was now being sought out. Her idea had been to go work in the most dangerous environment where her lack of impulse control would get her in trouble. Luka had been sending him updates about how she was doing, as had the director, when she refused to respond to their owls. And now she was refusing to speak to him. “So I am to understand that there was absolutely no reason for you to climb into a dragon enclosure in the middle of the night when you knew there was a Wyvern watch out for the area?” He inquired after several minutes of silence. After she had exploded at him and Tim, she had refused to communicate with them for anything. He had hoped that she would have been over it by now. It had been almost a year, after all.   
  
She fidgeted in her seat, eyes focused on the wrap around her ankle. She had checked it, and Eric had looked over it when he arrived, to find that it really was sprained. Damn drop. She didn't know what he wanted from her. If she told him the truth, she'd be in trouble; if she didn't speak at all, she was still in trouble. Either way, she knew she was in trouble and she knew he was probably aggravated at being woken up in the middle of the night, again, because she had done something that someone considered stupid. She knew Chris would end up telling his master the truth, so it would reach Eric eventually. But she just didn't want to talk to him. She knew she had disappointed him.   
  
“Alright. We'll just sit here until you decide to talk to me.” He remarked, shrugging and leaning back into his chair. They were in the quarters given to her as a mind-healer; sparse, small but private. She should have a roommate but that healer had quit. The stress of working on a dragon reserve made the reserve lose several healers a year. He knew Alexis was only here for another six months, as that was her contract, to fill in a void while the head healer recruited healers who could work with dragon riders and keepers without flinching. Healers with a backbone and no-nonsense attitude. Healers like his young charge. The one he could out wait if he had to, but he knew he wouldn't have to.   
  
She shifted again, darting her eyes up for a brief moment. He would too. While Eric was not as stubborn as his partner, he was quite patient. Tim eventually got aggravated and was faster to anger; Eric did not. He was slow to anger, exceedingly patient, and a hell of a lot stricter. He was the one she didn't want to get angry because once he was pushed to that point, she knew it was a point of no return. There was no getting out of trouble once she pushed him that far. She'd only done it twice and she really didn't want to do it again. “I went after Chris. I heard through gossip at supper that he was dared to enter a dragon's enclosure. When he missed our regular appointment time, I grew worried. When I couldn't locate him, I knew he was going to attempt it. Not because he was suicidal, Eric. He just..the other apprentices are jealous of him, because Master Luka chose him. But Chris has a hard time accepting that, he has so little confidence. I'm working on him, but I also know him. They dared him to do it, thinking he'd back out. But he wants them to like him, so he would do it.” She explained finally, staring down at her hands. She tapped her fingers on her knee, eyeing the chewed on nails. She didn't have to see his expression to know what his reaction would be.   
  
“Why didn't you inform his master? Or the director?”  
  
Alexis bit her lip, fighting with herself for a moment. “Because I didn't want to get him in trouble. I know what its like to want to fit in. I thought I could reach him before he got to the dragon, I didn't even think about the Wyverns or what would happen if the dragon was awake like she was. I wanted to keep him safe without crushing the little self confidence he had.” She answered softly, forcing herself to look at him. “And maybe I was trying to prove myself as well. I hear the things they say about me Eric. I see the way they look at me. Chris and I are the same age! He's actually a few months older than me. But he trusts me. So few others do. So I didn't ask for help, because I thought I could handle it. That maybe this would prove that I was a real healer. But I just proved that I'm a stupid kid.”   
  
Eric refrained from smiling, moving slowly from his chair to sit beside her on her bed. He wrapped an arm around the younger woman, meeting gray eyes with brown. “We all do things that we didn't quite think through. That doesn't make you stupid. With time and practice, you will learn to think through your actions before you do them. It takes work and correction but it does happen. It doesn't matter what anyone else says about you; all that matters is what you believe. You are a child, Alexis. Still a teenager, really. You've been nineteen for two months. Most people your age are apprentices or university students. They aren't the acting Mind-healer for a dragon reserve or a sought after touch healer. They are just starting to learn a trade, to improve their skills. Here you are, at nineteen, with a mastery in healing and charms and have worked for two children's wards and now a dragon reserve. They are afraid of you, just as they are afraid of your patient. He's also nineteen and the youngest apprentice to be chosen for rider training. The two of you have something in common and that's your drive, your determination. People envy and fear that, so they are going to say and do things that hurt. Ignore their hate, it isn't worth your time. And if you ever do anything like this again, regardless of whether you were trying to prove yourself or help a patient, you will like me even less than you will now.” He responded quietly, firmly. She would hate him as it was, at least temporarily. But Alexis knew him well enough now to know that he was being serious. She would not be happy if she did this, or anything similar again.   
  
Alexis huffed, glaring at him while still leaning against him. “So mean.” She teased, burying her head in his side. She knew what he was implying and while she didn't like it, she couldn't argue. She knew better than to do something so stupid.   
  
“I know. Let's handle this. “He murmured, waiting for her nod before maneuvering the younger woman over his lap. He hated this, hated hurting one of his family members, but he also knew it was necessary. Without consequences, Alexis would continue to take dangerous risks. One day she wouldn't be so lucky and he knew that. So he was going to curb the impulses now. He wanted to watch her grow up, after all.  
  
-x-   
  
Eric smiled down at the sleeping woman, tucking the covers more firmly around her. She looked so much younger when she was asleep, so innocent. He brushed black hair away from her face before kissing her forehead and moving toward the door. There was no floo in these quarters, so he would have to use the one on the main floor. He had to return home to his husband after all.   
  
\--  
  
“You climbed into a dragon's pen?!” Jake stared at her, mouth gaping. Even he knew that was dangerous, and he had done plenty of stupid things in his 'youth'. Granted, as Henry had reminded him this morning, he was still in his 'youth'.   
  
Alexis grimaced, remembering the terrifying moment when she had first noticed the Wyverns. They had been lucky that night. “I did. We've all have done things without thinking. I was focused on my client and nothing else.” She shrugged finally, raising an eyebrow at Mary's expression.   
  
“I bet you never did that again.” Mary suggested, meeting the slightly younger woman's eyes. From the relaxed body language of both Jake and Alexis, her idea was working. It took a couple of tries but the three of them were comfortable enough to set aside their professional sides and just act their age with each other. They all needed this.   
  
“Gods no. Eric's threat alone is enough to put an end to that idea.” She gave off a shudder, grinning at her two employees who were becoming her friends.   
  
“Glad to hear it.” Eric remarked quietly from the door to her quarters. She had known he was there, as she had dropped the ward to let him in, but the other two young people jumped.   
  
Alexis glanced at Eric and grimaced. She knew that face and she knew it well. “I didn't do it.” She stated, flushing at how childish she sounded.   
  
Eric snorted, eyes roving over all three young adults. He had a feeling this had been Mary's idea and it was a good one. All of their guards were dropped, all of their masks off. It was good to see them act like young twenty somethings and not like middle-age professionals. They didn't have to be responsible for so many others here, they could just be themselves. They needed that. He hated to disturb it. “You didn't. I actually need to speak to Jake for a moment, although you might want to hear that conversation, Headmistress.” He felt the very air in the room change as all three young adults sat up straight and tensed.   
  
Alexis met Eric's eyes for a long moment, tilting her head in question. At his shake of head though, she knew it wasn't good. “I'm sorry Mary, we are going to have to do this again another time.”She apologized finally, turning to meet the other woman's eyes.   
  
Mary shrugged, standing and stretching for a moment. She squeezed Jake's shoulder as she moved passed him, nodding to Eric, before moving to gently touch Alexis' arm. “It's alright. We'll find time sometime this week.” She smiled at the younger woman, feeling her relax for a brief second. She was going to try to work time in for these relaxing sessions at least once a week, more if she could. She knew it would be easier during the school year, because there would be more adults around to watch over the children.   
  
He waited until Mary had disappeared through the door before sitting down in a nearby armchair and handing the piece of parchment he carried to Alexis. Eric did not, however, watch her expression. He knew what her reaction would be. He was watching the younger man's reaction. “You forged your cosigner's name on your contract with the school. Thankfully, Lucius caught it before anyone else could. If you had known that your cosigner would not sign for you, you should have informed us. We would have taken care of it.”   
  
Alexis sighed, reading the letter for the third time. “Why didn't you tell me, Jake?” Now they would have to find a cosigner for the younger man who would be willing to be responsible for a man who forged someone else's signature.   
  
He fidgeted, not looking at either of them. He had received a howler that morning from the man whose signature he had forged. But the man technically had been his guardian and it wasn't the first time he had done so either. Hogwarts was just the first place that actually checked out the cosigners. Because he wasn't adult enough, by the magical communities standards, to enter into a contract on his own. Hell, Alexis was barely old enough and her situation was only different because hers wasn't a contract exactly. Hers was almost entirely through magic and he knew Filius had cosigned on the financial contract with the board of governors for her, as was required in their charter since she was under thirty and taking on the mantle of headmistress. Her situation was different from his in more ways than one. She had several people willing to sign for her, he didn't have one. “I thought I could get away with it.” He answered finally, deciding to be honest with her. After all, all she could do was fire him and he had a feeling that she wouldn't. “Henry told you?” He inquired as an after thought, glancing at the older healer.   
  
Eric raised a brow at the younger man. He was very nearly whining. Clearly there was more that Henry had not told him but he trusted the other man had handled it. As he would let Henry handle this. “He did. You have done this before?” He hadn't missed that note in the young man's voice either.   
  
Jake nodded, looking away from the brown-skinned healer to Alexis. She looked resigned but not really surprised. He was irritated that Henry had told Eric, however. Not that they wouldn't have found out since they did receive the letter. Maybe he shouldn't have snapped at the older man; even though his respect for Henry had grown, he didn't need the other man's opinion. Nor had he liked being popped, although perhaps he shouldn't have snapped quite what he had. He would have popped Charlie for doing the same.   
  
“Alright, so now we have to find a cosigner for you.” Alexis stated, glancing at Eric. She had a feeling that Eric had already done that.   
  
“Good luck with that.” Jake muttered, fidgeting again. He had no family, his master wouldn't do it, and he had no friends old enough to do it. He had been forging his master's signature on contracts for nearly four years. He had just needed another year or two and then he wouldn't have needed the signature. But he got caught.   
  
“Hey, attitude.” Alexis corrected instantly, fighting down a grimace when she realized how much like Tim she sounded. But it didn't feel weird for her to correct Jake, even if they were the same age. She was his boss. And while she could understand his feelings of defeat, she knew they could find a solution if Eric hadn't found one already.   
  
He had thought about having Henry tell the young man but he wasn't so sure Jake wouldn't go off on him. Not that Henry couldn't handle him, of course. “Because of your age, you have to have a cosigner to act as legal guardian and that can be hard to find at your age, if it isn't a master or family member. However, when Henry and I spoke, he offered to do so, if you have no objections. Lucius will bring over the appropriate paperwork this evening.” Eric explained quietly. He figured Henry could talk to Jake about what that meant later. Jake wasn't one he thought would act out, but that didn't mean that Henry didn't need to have that chat with him.   
  
He blinked. Henry was willing to do that for him? But he wasn't always as respectful or nice to Henry as he should be, at least in their quarters. Henry never got angry, he just listened and let him rant usually. “Yes sir, that's fine. I'm sorry, Alexis. I know I should have brought it to your attention, it just makes it harder to get a job when no one will sign for you. “   
  
“Eric, Tim, and Severus all signed for the counselors who needed it. We had a solution in place for those who didn't have a cosigner. Hogwarts requires one for longer than most places, partly because we work with children. So we had a plan in place, you just had to tell us.” Alexis replied softly, meeting green eyes. She knew a lot about Jake's past, they sometimes double-teamed the hard to reach ones and used their pasts to relate to the youth. So she had known that he had few good relationships with older adults. He was creating a family of his own, with Mary and Charlie and Katie. Even with her in a way. She had a feeling Henry was going to become part of that family. Jake was just going to have to get used to being accountable to more people than just himself and his employer. She knew how hard that was but it was yet another thing they shared. And that was alright.

 


End file.
